Aug 10 Adventure in the defining process

I’ve been wanting to create a space where I can share our stories. A place to document our trip reports, our gear reviews, our experience of living an adventurous lifestyle outdoors as a family, and a few of the seemingly inconsequential but meaningful moments of family life. But I had a hard time finding my voice. Uncertainty about the types of stories I wanted to create for my little boy and myself (and share in a blog) paralyzed me. If motherhood has taught me one thing, it’s that beauty, creativity, and meaning are found in times of uncertainty. We must accept that we are not fully defined versions of ourselves, but instead must always be consciously DEFINING ourselves. I’m learning to love this defining process.

Maybe that’s what I love the most about adventure. There is an element of unknown. Constant defining moments. You have a destination and follow a map, but there are always unknown and uncontrollable elements. You run into a storm, take a wrong trail, encounter epic swarms mosquitos, drop half of your PBJ into a stream, etc. And of course the three rules of mountaineering alwasy apply (It’s always further than it looks. It’s always taller than it looks. And it’s always harder than it looks). But somehow, the journey is always more beautiful than imagined. No books, blogs, maps, or guides can surpass the beauty of a personal experience.

If I had drawn a map of where I thought I’d be in 2016, it wouldn’t be here. And I love that. So here’s to a new adventure!